Hard decision about the future of my M8 ... maybe you feel the same way?

[Keith]

I swore I wouldn't sell this camera because there seems little point in doing so ... it does nothing wrong and never really has and the cost, which seemed extrordinary at the time, is long forgotten, but ... it now seems to have taken up permanent residence in the cupboard with little chance of that status changing.

There seems to be numerous reasons for this:

The crop factor creates a re-think every time I pick it up ... the only lens I'm really comfortable with on the camera is the 35mm f1.2 Nokton so versatilty is not a strong point.

I'm unlikely to ever make the step up to the M9 ... financially it's not viable and the M9 doesn't attract me or really offer anything that makes me personally 'burn' to own one.

For the limited amount of digital shooting I do my D700 posesses the goods in every area ... the size of the camera is no issue, I just bought a Pentax 67 for chrissakes! 😛

The longer I persue photography as an interest the less digital seems to appeal to me ... film's survival allowing, I can't see that changing.

The flip flop factor ... rangefinders constantly fall in and out of vogue for me, sometimes I like them sometimes I don't. I always like my SLRs!

My head hurts! 😱

 

[-doomed-]

Send it my way Ill give it a good home. You wouldnt be selling it as much as donating it to a fellow RFF member who will enjoy it for as long as it will hold out.

 

[Keith]

Send it my way Ill give it a good home. You wouldnt be selling it as much as donating it to a fellow RFF member who will enjoy it for as long as it will hold out.

You are very right in that a camera like the M8 really should be in the hands of someone who will use and appreciate it ... it's not a suitable 'shelf queen' IMO!

In fact no digital is!

 

[Vickko]

Keith, don't sweat it. I've shot my M4 all month now, and the only digital work is using my GF1 for ebay shots. The M8 sits in the drawer.

I figure in the near future, something will come up (like my new child) and I'll pull out the M8 again.

Now, granted, I don't have a D700 or any other appropriately superb DSLR, and I'm glad that the M8 is sitting there, ready to go, if I have the desire.

And like you, I have no urge to get an M9 (too expensive, doesn't have the 1/8000 shutter, which is good when I want to be shooting fast glass in daytime). Now, if the M9 prices fall to the $2000 to ~ $2500 point (in a year or so ;-) ), I'll revisit the M9.

But in the meantime, shooting film is fine and fun.

...Vick

 

[Vickko]

hmmmm, I just re-read your post, Keith.

Digital shelf queen is a very expensive proposition.

If I were feeling the way you say, I'd be putting the M8 into the classifieds right away.

....Vick

 

[tbarker13]

I sold my M8 at one point, but then had to get another. A digital RF has just been too liberating for me - allowing me to shoot more in the past couple of years than I ever would have with film.
I really like shooting with my D700, but I am in love with rangefinders. So for me, there's really not decision to make, unless I scale way back on my shooting - something I have no desire to do.

 

[-doomed-]

You are very right in that a camera like the M8 really should be in the hands of someone who will use and appreciate it ... it's not a suitable 'shelf queen' IMO!

In fact no digital is!

Agreed , I have been setting aside cash for an M8 , perhaps I can afford one next year. I sold off most of my other stuff and consolidated down to my M4-P and a few lenses along with a canon 10D I got for $50.

 

[maddoc]

The crop factor creates a re-think every time I pick it up ... the only lens I'm really comfortable with on the camera is the 35mm f1.2 Nokton so versatilty is not a strong point.

I have never owned an M8 (or M9) but R-D1s and used a friends M8 and M9 for a very short time. The crop factor was one reason for me to sell the Epson and never buy the M8 after I bought my first film M Leica and had to decide for a lens setup of some kind. The M9 is the way to go (IMO) but way to expensive so for some longer time I will keep using film cameras ...

 

[_mark__]

Sell it, they still fetch good prices, buy loads of film for that pentax!

 

[back alley]

will you take payments?

 

[Keith]

Digital cameras need to be used ...like milk eggs and butter they have a use by date and no amount of fondling or idolising is of any benefit IMO!

This is what film cameras are for! 😀

 

[Keith]

will you take payments?

Careful ... you'll get me dragged over the coals for hawking my wares in a thread Joe!

I've already been threatened once previously by one of your new hit men! 😛

 

[back alley]

Careful ... you'll get me dragged over the coals for hawking my wares in a thread Joe!

I've already been threatened once previously by one of your new hit men! 😛

sorry keith, i just got all excited.

 

[back alley]

m9 is a never gonna happen camera for me, just way too much cash and it would overwhelm my paycheque.

m8.2 is the way to go, possibly in the future when i pay off my credit card.

thr rd1 is a camera that i love and can stay with for as long as they will last.

bottom line for me is digital is my way of life now and rangefinders have always been my preferred tool.

 

[Keith]

I still consider my pair of M8.2's as my go-to cameras. I have a pair of Nikon DSLR's which I won't be without. The M8.2's however, are my everyday cameras. Film is for now a treat with which I indulge myself as much as possible (~ 4 rolls shot & processed per week).

Until I actually have a M9 or its successor, my M8.2's aren't going away. I have accumulated the lenses for the crop factor that fit my vision. I tell myself if I had a M9 I could live without a few of the lenses I have just for the M8.2 and its crop factor. I'm not yet prepared to pull that trigger though.

This is the catch 22 IMO! Having aspirations to own an M9 is a damned good reason to hang onto an M8 or M8.2.

Because I don't really have this drive the M8 seems to have little appeal now, especially when I measure it's output against my D700 which is a 'bus' by comparison I realise ... but for someone who generally only relies on digital for the occasional paid gig the M8 doesn't quite fit the bill!

 

[swoop]

Wait until I sell mine first. Wouldn't want to mess with the supply/demand ratio.

 

[Keith]

Wait until I sell mine first. Wouldn't want to mess with the supply/demand ratio.

😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[hausen]

Got rid of mine. Traded it for a Canon 7d plus 17=55/2.8 to a pro who wanted it for weddings. There were always concessions to be made in using M8 and since I bought Mamiya 6 I can't imagine I ever paid NZ$5k for it. I love 6x6.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Keep it, Keith. You're going through a phase. At one time after settling with my Leicas in my world, I gave selling all my SLRs some serious thought. I'm very glad I didn't do it.

Currently, most of my (little) photographing is done with my D700... it's convenient and quick, but then, I've been also using my Nikon S2 a lot.

Just give yourself a break, enjoy using your gear, don't create laws or principles for yourself. At some point you'll go back to using your M8 and then you won't contemplate selling the D700, would you?

 

[Keith]

Keep it, Keith. You're going through a phase. At one time after settling with my Leicas in my world, I gave selling all my SLRs some serious thought. I'm very glad I didn't do it.

Currently, most of my (little) photographing is done with my D700... it's convenient and quick, but then, I've been also using my Nikon S2 a lot.

Just give yourself a break, enjoy using your gear, don't create laws or principles for yourself. At some point you'll go back to using your M8 and then you won't contemplate selling the D700, would you?

I understand what you're saying as we all do go through phases where particular gear just seems plain uninteresting ... then you pick it up months later and away you go again telling yourself it's the world's best camera! 😀

At least ninety five percent of the shots taken with my M8 in the three or four years I've owned it have been photographing gallery openings for a fee! My personal use of the camera has been negligible and that slot that at least gave the camera some use has now been filled by the Nikon because it just plain does it better in these conditions due to it's high ISO capabilities. That's no criticism of the M8 because it is actually nicer to shoot with in that environment but it's dated sensor technology doesn't cut it.

If recreational shooting with digital doesn't ring my bells that means the camera will get near zero use when it's not being used professionally and that's a waste. The Nikon of course suffers the same fate but that's what it was made for ... it's just a tool that evokes little emotion from the user and to have it sitting idle for lengthy periods is neither here nor there. It also cost me a third of what I paid for my M8! The Leica is a very tactile device and if you're into digital there could be no other nicer way to indulge yourself.

If I could see myself suddenly waking up one day to find the hand of god reaching down and a booming voice telling me "Keith ... digital is where it's at ... go forth and pixelate!" I might see a future for the Leica 😀

Seems less than likely though! 😛